Sunday, December 19, 2010

There's only been a tiny bit of decorating at my house. I have wonderful memories of my days as a stay at home mom...the decorating, the baking, making gingerbread ornaments with my kids, all the classroom parties at school...Now I work retail. Do stores really need to open at three o'clock in the morning and close at midnight?

Since I wasn't able to blog during the Christmas season, I am looking forward to the new year and lots of new projects.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

I have made a couple of projects using painted fabric to resemble french grain sacks.

My current project (which I will share later), requires three long panels of the painted fabric. The measuring and taping can be quite tedious for a long piece. One day I saw a stencil you could buy to paint the stripes. Why didn't I think of that? The price of these stencils ranged from $35.00 to $45.00. Too much for me, so I made my own.

I purchased blank stencils from JoAnn's for $1.99, measured and drew lines,

And cut with a blade and straight edge. I must confess that I ruined the first one. It took a little practice to get the hang of cutting.

I mix craft paint with textile medium. That way your color options are limitless. Just follow the instructions on the bottle for mixing and heat setting. It is totally washable. My son spilled a full glass of orange soda on my table runner and it washed up perfectly.

I like to paint the stripes with a stencil brush and pouncing method. It really gives an authentic and faded look.

I also use a stencil spray adhesive to hold the stencil and help prevent the paint from leaking under. I put a mark at the center of the design on the stencil to help line it all up.

And this is what it looks like when you remove the stencil. So much easier than taping.

This was definitely worth the time of making the stencil. I plan on using them for several more projects.

Click on the parties link on my sidebar for all the parties I will be joining.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I love all the projects everyone is doing with sheet music. Besides ebay, I have no idea where to find vintage sheet music. So...

I decided to make my own. I just made photo copies of some sheet music I found at a music store. I'm not sure about copyright laws, but the copyright date on this music was 1903, and since it's just being used for craft projects, I think it's ok. Then I tea stained the music. I used one family size tea bag in two cups water. I poured the tea into a large pan and soaked the music for 30 minutes.

I removed the music and layed it to dry on some newspaper. To get the darker stain spots, I sprinkled some instant tea on the newspaper and put the music face down.

It dries really fast and I love the way it turned out. I almost forgot to tell you, I did iron the music. Put a paper towel on top, iron one side for a few seconds, then turn over and iron the other side.

I tried printing a botanical image on the music. I think that look has possibilities as well.

I'm sure you could achieve different looks with stronger tea or different soaking times.

And I don't need to tell you all the ways you can use the music. For now, I'm just enjoying it as it is.

Have you made any projects with sheet music? I would love to hear you ideas. Or send me a picture.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

This old lampshade was "unique" to say the least. It is also very large.

I saw this lampshade at the thrift store one day. The first thing I thought was "Oh! I love the shape of that". When I picked it up and saw how large and gaudy it really was, I had second thoughts. I checked the price - $2.80. Should I or shouldn't I? All I need is more junk laying around to fix up, my family would think I lost my mind, and quite honestly, I was a little embarrassed to buy it. So I didn't.

The next time I went to the thrift store, there it was. I still liked it, so I decided to buy it. Trying not to look embarrassed, I took it to the counter. Apparently the price tag had fallen off. I told the young guy that worked there that I had seen the price of $2.80. He said, "Why don't we just make it $1.80", in a "I should pay you to take it" tone.

Still feeling proud of myself for having the courage to buy it, I arrived home with my prize. And then I had no idea what to do with it. First things first, I ripped the cover off the frame. The shape I fell in love with really stood out now, and that's when I decided to turn it into a hanging light.

These are the supplies I purchased from The Home Depot.

First you attach the rod through the hole in the shade.

Then run the wire through the rod.

I turned the shade upside down at this point so it looked more like the picture on the instructions.

You screw this cap onto the rod.

And tie an underwriters knot. (Just copy the picture on the package)

Attach the wires to the socket screws and push it into place. That's it!

A hanging light fixture. I added the extension cord so it would be long enough to plug in and then just hung the cord from ceiling hooks.

I wrapped the cord with white voile and tan tulle fabrics.

The shade "before" reminded me of the hats the ladies wore at the races in My Fair Lady, so I added embellishments inspired by vintage hats. A tea stained ribbon, pink velvet rosette that I made, and more tulle.

I didn't know if I would like a "naked" frame, but I really do. And I vow not to be embarrassed to buy junk any more. Look at the fun I would have missed. I wonder, have any of you ever been embarrassed to buy something ugly?

Click on the link parties list on my sidebar for all the parties I'll be joining.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Hello everyone! I've been suffering from blogging withdrawal. I don't know why I haven't had time for any projects (besides running a half marathon, working, going to watch my daughter cheer at football games, shopping for a homecoming dress, and so on). But in between all of that, I finally filled that empty space in my faux fireplace mantle.

Before...

I covered a peice of plywood with old book pages using the starch method you can see here. I then made a frame for it out of moulding and painted it to match the fireplace.

I glued the frame to the plywood so it could easily be removed from the mantle. You know how I love to change my mind. It only took one small nail to hold the frame to the mantle.

I want to hang a floral print in the center, but I haven't found what I'm looking for yet. So I put a small stool in front and topped it with a pitcher full of the last hydrangeas from the garden.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

And not a lot of blogging. I've been training to run a half marathon in October. I did a nine mile run today, and I'm starting to have some doubts about the whole thing. But I'm not ready to give up yet. Anyway, I did find time to finally finish this chair. Here's the before.

The chair was not comfortable to sit in, so I decided to replace the seat. What a mess that turned out to be.

O.K. Now what?

I had to cut a piece of plywood for the seat, install supports to hold the plywood, cut foam to fit the seat, and cover with batting. Not the paint and slipcover project I had originally thought.

There's the chair with white paint and a new seat, ready for the slipcover. I used three of my favorite things - covered buttons...

Bow ties...

And ruffles.

This chair is for my blue and white guest room. It is filled with many projects to do. I'll show you more of the room later.

Now I just need a cute pillow. Oh well, there is always one more project.

About Me

I am a fulltime working wife and mother of two teenagers. I dream of one day having my home featured in one of those "romantic" publications. I work with a small budget, so it's always a DIY adventure. I hope you will join me as I go room by room, project by project, to create a warm and romantic home.
Janet